


Babylon

by Tinyplants



Category: Fallout - Fandom, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: :(, Abusive Relationships, Burns, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Prostitution, Self-Harm, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2019-11-22 17:22:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18139316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinyplants/pseuds/Tinyplants
Summary: “And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!” And he answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.” -Isaiah 21:9------------------------------------------------------------------------------As she struggles to deal with the demons of her past, Ladybird finds sanctuary and peace in the hands of the very man who helped raise the hell she crawled out from. He attempts to extinguish the flames of his own wrong doings, as war wages in his holy land. Surely the devil in him won't rise and set the temple ablaze.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short chapter but my goodness, I haven't written in ages and i'm rusty! I got incredibly influenced by some of the amazing pieces I've been reading. I just wanted this chapter to be about introducing Bird. I'll add tags as they come into the story!

The light filtered through the tattered curtains onto her face, she rolled over to avoid the light with a sigh and pulled the dingy bedsheets closer to her.

“Are you seriously going to sleep all day again? Get up.” A female voice arose from the bedroom doorway. 

The woman looked back with an aggravated look plastered to her face before sitting up. She heard the noises of the city flood her room as the other woman opened the dusty window and pulled back the curtains, then promptly wiped her hands on her blouse. 

“Close that fucking window, you know how many junkies live around here?” The woman snarled before swinging her legs off the bed, messy copper hair tumbling down her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes, glaring at the brunette by the window. 

The brunette only chuckled before sitting on the window sill and lighting a cigarette, leaning towards the bed and offering the pack to the red head. 

“I’m serious. Shits crazy here.” The redhead continued as she grabbed the box and quickly shoved a cigarette between her lips, throwing the box back on the dark-haired woman’s lap.

“It’s crazy everywhere, love. Besides I think you could use the fresh air. How long have you cooped yourself up in here this time?” The woman took the pack off her lap and slipped it back into her coat pocket, crossing her legs and looking around the room, empty bottles of med-x and syringes of what once was psycho or a stimpak littered the floor and the table tops. The woman quirked her eyebrow up with a frown.

“What are you, my goddamn mother? Fuck off and give me a light.” The ginger leaned in and the brunette followed lighting her cigarette with her own burning one, still promptly in her mouth, pressing her face close to the red-haired woman to do so. The redhead huffed and took a drag. “Really though, Bird. How long have you been in here?” The woman sounded genuinely concerned. 

“A week… maybe two? Can’t remember, I was sleeping or fucked up mostly.” The redhead, Bird, shrugged as the brunette frowned at her answer. “What’s it to ya’ anyway, Vex?”  
“ I want you to get clean… This is getting out of hand I think…” Vex responded. 

Bird glanced up at her and pulled the thin shirt she was sleeping in up, before putting the cigarette out on her inner thigh and flicking the butt onto the floor, “I’m fine. I don’t need no help.” 

Vex watched her, the burns littering her thighs made her take a long puff of the cigarette she was still working on. 

“Let me get dressed and we can go out, make some money or something. I don’t fucking know.” The redhead stood and stretched kicking empty syringes to the side before making her way to her dresser pulling her t-shirt she was sleeping in off and, in a half hazard manner, threw it onto the bed. 

Vex watched her, running her eyes down the woman’s body. Her friend never told her much about her past, nor did she bother asking. All those scars, Birds demeanor, addictions, said enough. Vex could tell she had been through it, it wasn’t her business she figured….but as she watched Bird adjust herself, one scar stood out to her, she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen the symbol before…

“Hey, Ladybird….” Vex’s voice filled the quiet of the room before she walked towards the other woman, high heels clicking against the wooden floors. She pulled her bobbed brown hair back, a tad nervously before pointing to a burn on her shoulder blade. The burn was in a shape Vex knew she had seen before…what was it? A brahmin? No, a bull. She laid her finger on it and the redhead froze.

“What’s this scar from?”


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. Several violence TW's! This is more backstory on Ladybird here. I know there's a few typos here and there, I'll edit this when it's not 12 am!

She was absolutely infatuated with him; his thick curly hair always grew out all over the place and each summer he would crop it short because it was so much easier to deal with, he said. His eyes were incredibly dark brown, and it reminded her of the night sky. 

She peered around the old barn towards him, watching him till the community garden with a few others. She leaned against the barn admiring how his muscles moved as he moved the tool against the dirt. Her face flushed a bit.

“Hey! Marcus!” she shouted towards him and he quickly spun around to face her, his face lit up and he gently placed the tool against the fence and jogged towards him. She always admired how gentle he was with everything, tools, the crops, even the agitated farm animals were all met with the same amount of respect.

“Bird! What do you need? I gotta get this plot ready.” She knew he was absolutely pleased to see her, regardless of how busy he wanted to seem.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a walk later tonight. That is if you aren’t terribly tired after working all day.” She twirled a curl of her hair around her finger and held tightly to the edge of her worn yellow dress. 

“Well, I’d be delighted to!” He leaned towards her with that bright smile of his and her face lit up as well.

“I’ll catch you around…sundown then? Same place, the little barn here.” She gestured to the old barn that they stood next to, and she looked up at his face, her soft grey eyes meeting his. 

“You got it.” He took her hand and lightly kissed it. Her heart skipped a couple beats, she felt sort of strange for acting so head over heels. This is something silly kids feel and act like, not nineteen-year old’s. 

He turned and quickly went back to the plot to continue working and she could hear some of the other guys crack jokes about him, he simply laughed them off. 

She continued watching for a while before slipping away from the barn and back to the middle of the little settlement they both called home. It wasn’t anything special, a farming community, a several days trip from Flagstaff. They would go and sell whatever they managed to grow to other tribes or settlements nearby. It was always peaceful here. 

Lately they had a lot of visitors coming through, which was a-okay for her she loved hearing stories of their travels. They would always welcome visitors into their homes. Many missionaries had come through. They did successfully convert many of the settlers around her to their strange religion, but she wasn’t very interested. She loved to listen to them preach though, it was oddly comforting the way they spoke so passionately.

Unfortunately, no one had passed into town for months, which was strange.  
The older folks had been having a lot of meetings lately. They all took place in the house down the road from hers. She didn’t really pay attention though, it didn’t concern her and all that she knew, life was great.

She figured it would be near dinner time, and she knew mother would appreciate her help in setting the table. Their house wasn’t anything to brag about. A couple rooms and a kitchen, but it was all they really needed. Her mother, her father, and her. They were it. They had a rather small family, which seemed to be custom around town. 

“Momma?” Her voice reverberated against the old wood of the house, as she walked in to the kitchen, her mom was mixing something in a pot, positioned in the fire. 

“Yes, Birdie?” She turned facing the younger woman, she had red hair, face littered with freckled and the most beautiful brown eyes, not quite as dark as Marcus’s were. 

“Need any help?” The younger woman gestured towards the table with a smile and it was returned by the older woman. 

“You know I always do. Plates are in the wash basin.” She pointed towards the basin near the wall.

Later that evening she snuck out, quietly closing the door and praying that the rusted hinges wouldn’t creak as she left. The sun had just gone down, and she quickly made her way to the barn on the other side of town, attempting to avoid literally running to meet him. The old blue dress she had thrown on swished this way and that as she rushed.  
She stopped at the corner of the barn, next to a barrel and a large cactus that stood proudly out front of the structure, she could hear the “moo” of a restless brahmin from inside. Footsteps from behind her caused her to turn quickly, and her eyes met his in the darkness. 

“Where should we walk to this time?” He held his arm out for him, he was wearing an old tan settler’s shirt and it couldn’t have looked better on him. She giddily took his arm and placed her other hand on his bicep. 

“A mile or so north, there’s a beautiful outcrop I found while exploring, I want to watch the stars again tonight.” She smiled up at him and he nodded.

“Of course, lead the way.” He smiled back to her and she started off in the direction of the rocky outcrop.

After a lengthy walk, and Ladybird stopping many times to admire a weed or flower here and there they had made it to the perfect star watching location. A giant sandstone formation jutted out of the ground in an awkward way, and nearby several of the cactus’ bloomed. 

Marcus let go of Ladybird, much to her confusion and reached up to pick a bloom off one of the cacti.

“Oh! Be careful!” She exclaimed as she rushed towards him, hoping he wouldn’t hurt himself on the spines poking out ever-which way on the plant.

“I’m always careful.” He replied turning towards her and placing the flower behind her ear softly.

Her face, as usual flushed at the gesture, she turned slightly to keep him from noticing.

It was so deathly quiet tonight, she noticed, no animals stirred. That was the least of concern to her, however. She climbed up the steep rock and he followed. She found a comfortable position towards the top and he sat next to her. She leaned against him and stared up into the night sky silently. 

“You’re beautiful, Ladybird.” Marcus directly looked at her as he spoke and once again her heart skipped several beats. 

“Oh…um….” She looked away from him quickly, her face brightening as his compliment.

“Um…Was that too much? I’m sorry I-“ He nervously began to apologize, afraid that she had become uncomfortable.

“You’re beautiful too- I mean handsome? Um!...” She quickly cut him off and awkwardly responded to him running a hand through her hair nervously.  
He smiled and leaned in closer to her and cut her off with a kiss, ever so slightly on her lips.

She was shocked at first but quickly responded, kissing him back much more firmly.

He pulled away and slipped his hand into hers,“We should probably head back.”

Ladybird nodded quickly and made her way down the rock, refusing to let his hand go the entire time she made it down.

It was a quicker walk back towards the settlement than from it. She didn’t stop to look at everything that caught her attention. Her heart raced in her chest and she gripped his arm as they walked. It was a quiet walk back, they had both said enough back there and there was nothing more to say, for now.

She stopped as they neared the settlement, flames and smoke rose through the air and they exchanged looks between each other. A strange smell waved through the air. Something felt incredibly off, and it made the hair on the back of Ladybird’s neck stand on edge. 

“Did, something catch on fire?” She quietly spoke to him as his grip also tightened on her. 

“Not sure….why is it so quiet and…” He trailed off in his train of thought and as they slowly approached, they could hear several men laughing. 

Her eyes widened as they came into focus of the fire….

Corpses. 

There were a few men standing around the fire, dressed strangely. They wore crimson, some had helmets some had handkerchiefs covering their faces. They wore strange armor….

Marcus quickly stepped in front of Ladybird and attempted to retreat, back to the rock, it was calm there, it was quiet there. They had fallen asleep there is all, and this was a terrible dream. Ladybird’s stomach flipped as a land clamped down on her shoulder. She let out a loud yelp, which alerted the other men. 

“Looks like we missed a couple. Dammit and I was ready to leave, too.” The man’s voice was harsh as he pulled her back from Marcus and twisted her arm behind her back to subdue her struggling. 

Two others rushed forward, and Marcus tried to run the apposite way, but they quickly caught up with him took him down as well, his face was firmly planted in the dirt with a grunt. 

“Cato, what should we do with them?” Another man stepped forward, he was obviously the lead. He first made his way to Ladybird, looking her up and down in a way that made her skin crawl. He reached and grabbed her face in his hands. His hands were rough, and she attempted to pull away from him, struggling against the man behind her. 

“She’s rather pretty. Let’s keep her. Nice hair too... It’s different” He tugged on a piece of her hair before harshly releasing her face. Tears filled her eyes.

He turned to Marcus and stalked forward, kneeling to his level he spoke, “How old are you, boy?” “Eighteen.” Marcus responded with a strained voice, twisting below the two men holding him down, which caused one of them to knee his side. Ladybird cringed and looked the other way.  
“Hm…He’s too old. Finish him up so we can get out of here. The others are already ahead of us with the other valuables.” He glanced towards Ladybird, who was much too frightened to respond. 

“Right. As you say.” One of the men holding him down responded as they dragged him off towards the pile. 

“Go ahead and brand her, we don’t have any collars right now but when we catch up with the others, we can get one. I doubt she’s the kind that would run, right? You don’t want to run. Running makes it so much worse for you.” He smiled towards Ladybird and she pushed against the man behind her in attempt to avoid him.

A gunshot caught her attention, and she looked up towards it seeing Marcus slump forward. The man who shot him unceremoniously threw him into the flames. No noise came from her, but tears streamed down her reddening face. She didn't know how to respond. They should have stayed there all night.. He was always too gentle.

They all turned their sights on her. The man behind her pushed her forward towards the flames and pulled her down next to it. One knee firmly planted against her mid-back caused her to start struggling. He was much too heavy. 

“Hold still, profligate.” The man on top of her snapped at the others, and one came forward to help subdue her, the other putting an iron in the fire. Marcus always used that to brand brahmin…

Realization set in rather quickly and she started to thrash more than she did before. The man on her back ripped her dress, revealing her shoulder blade. Another hand held her shoulder down firmly.

“No.. don’t…Why would you do that?” She panicked as they. Pulled the brand from the fire, a blazing red. She freed one arm and quickly shoved it towards the fire, attempting to pull herself away. It was too close to her face. It was too hot. He was too heavy. This was all too much.

“Don’t let her burn herself. Like I said, she’s pretty. I don’t want any blemishes yet.” The one named Cato leaned against the wagon, arms crossed, and an amused look crossed his face. 

“Right.” The man holding her shoulder down responded and quickly pulled her away. Before the iron came down on her shoulder. She blacked out immediately. All she heard was Cato’s laughter and the scent of more burning flesh.

The cactus flower in her hair withered near the flames.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be a little boring, sorry. I'm trying to write my way through to the more dramatic parts of the story. I have a general idea of where I want it to go but I'm honestly just...going with the flow lol. I'm trying to not make it sound too terribly unbelievable. Here's some Vex and Bird banter lol.

The redhead froze at the brunette’s question before quickly throwing a shirt on. Vex immediately regretted asking as the question left her mouth. The air seemingly thinned in the room before the tension was broken by the woman casually slipping her shirt on. The dingy green shirt hung loosely, and wasn’t terribly flattering as what Vex typically wore, but the ginger didn’t really seem to care. Bird stayed quiet as she slowly buttoned her shirt.

She left the top three buttons unbuttoned before turning around to Vex, “Oh my god. What’s with you today, jesus christ. Stop fucking smothering me.”  
Relief flooded through Vex as Bird retorted with her usual snippy tone. She retreated to her place at the window and lit another cigarette with no reply to the other woman. The past is better left unsaid, probably. The scars pattern still irked her, but she wouldn't push her.

She watched the redheaded woman finish getting ready and remembered how offended she had been with her attitude when they first met. Vex thought she was purposely being rude, but come to find out, that was just Bird’s personality. It made even more sense when she found out she was a psycho addict. They all have that aggressive streak to them.  
The ginger ran a comb through her hair with a huff, “This shit’s too long, what if I lopped it off.” She turned back to Vex for her reply, leaning against the dresser drawer and crossing her arms promptly across her chest, The comb still in hand.

“I think a short haircut would look rather nice, actually.” The brunette placed her cigarette back into her mouth and took a puff before blowing back out towards the opened window.

Bird smiled a bit, “Fuck yeah. So much easier to deal with.”

Vex nodded before turning back to her, “what would your clients think though, your hair is rather pretty.”

She rolled her eyes before replying, “Ugh who gives a shit. When people say my hair is pretty it gives me the damn creeps. It’s just hair. If I lose a couple bucks who gives a shit. Maybe I’ll tap into a market of men who really get off to short haired girls.” 

The woman perched at the window laughed loudly before putting the cigarette that had burned out minutes ago down on the edge of the window. She wiped her eyes a bit before standing, the differences in style between the two women were outstanding. Vex was always incredibly effeminate, old, ruffled blouses and heels were her thing. Bird didn’t mind dressing up occasionally but a majority of what she wore consisted of loosely fitting tops and boots. Though, she always left the top buttons of her shirt undone to show a little skin, it was kind of necessary for what she did. 

The two made their way down the stairs and out of the old ramshackle house. Bird squinted as the light from the sun hit her eyes and she cussed under her breath, which caused Vex to giggle a bit, “That wouldn’t happen if you didn’t keep yourself cooped up all day.” She pointed her thin finger towards Bird, rising a scoff out of the other woman.

They made their way to the Mormon fort near the front of town. They always stood where the traffic from those making their way to the strip walked, they were usually their best customers. Men and women with a bunch of money already, wanting a taste of the highlife. Drunken soldiers and locals seemed to be most of their clients, though. The atomic wrangler was there if they wanted a more secure job but, Vex and Bird never wanted to work for anyone. Bird made it clean when they started that the idea of doing all this work then handing a portion over to someone made her pretty pissed off. 

The sound of boots from behind them made Bird quickly turn, only to perk her attitude up when Dixon approached. Vex never liked him. He was a total sleaze in her opinion. He didn’t care who he doped up if they paid. She couldn’t judge him harshly, but it never sat right with her.

“Hey, Bird” He stopped in front of her with a smirk plastered across his face. Vex couldn’t help but sneer at him before turning back towards the main road.

“Hey.” She simply replied, walking a tad closer to him.

“Need a-“ Dixon was quickly cut off by bird as he attempted to ask his usual question.

“The usual. Quit the small talk.” She reached her hand into her pocket and handed him several caps. Too many caps in Vex’s opinion. Dixon only chuckled before handing Bird a bottle of med-x and several syringes of psycho. Bird snatched them out of his hands and shoved them into a brown bag she typically carried with her. Dixon knew better to talk his usual un-empathetic snark to Bird and simply backed away.

“Catch you later, red.” He waved her off before making his way down the street.

Bird didn’t even dignify him with a send off before turning back towards her companion, staring straight ahead of her with her typical angry expression. She could feel Vex’s disappointment.

Vex looked to Bird and down at her bag with a frown and simply looked back towards the road, leaning against the fort with a huff, the sun was scorching today, and it felt much better in the shade of the brick wall. The silence between the two was a bit unnerving. 

“I think he gets some sick sense of joy from getting everyone addicted.” Vex looked towards where Dixon walked off towards.

“No doubt.” Bird whipped her nose with the back of her hand before leaning next to Vex.

“Then why do you-“ Vex stopped herself from continuing her sentence as Birds grey eyes bored into her, with an unrecognizable look.

“I get it. I get it,” Bird looked forward, no trace of anger laced her voice.

“I’ll figure it out.”


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo! I'm back! I would have updated sooner but I was in classes. Ya'll know that college life. Finals are done and I'm off for a summer semester so here's more trash from the trash man!

She groggily came to her senses as the morning sun warmed her shoulders and face. The warmth was welcomed as she stirred. She trembled slightly as she felt the burn on her shoulder blade roar to life as she woke, her body was sore from sleeping on the hard surface of the caravan. A small breath escaped her lips as she slowly fluttered her eyes open, dark brown eyes met her own, startling her slightly. She quickly moved backwards, her shoulder met the wood, causing a small cry to leave her. She looked up to see a man crouched down in front of her, an amused look crossed his face.

“You’re still with us, I see.” He wiped his nose with the back of his black-gloved hand and looked back down at her.

The memories of last night flooded her mind and Marcus’ panicked face crossed her mind. Suddenly a different form of panic filled her as she looked up at the crimson clad man, “Where are my parents?”

He moved back away from her, sitting directly across from her and simply shrugged then turned his head away from her, his eyes still were locked on to her, however. She had many more questions to ask him, but she lost the courage it took to ask her question in the first place. The way he watched her was too unnerving. She pulled the torn dress back over her shoulder and turned her head away from him to avoid his eye contact.

“Silas.” Cato’s unfortunately recognizable voice boomed from behind the man who sat in front of her, and he stood at attention. 

Cato hopped onto the cart and Ladybird watched a few men follow behind him. Cato’s wolfish smile beamed down at her as he stalked closer, “You’re awake!” He bent down towards her and ran his hands through her hair, tangled from the events of last light. She couldn’t help but to shiver at his touch, it made her blood run cold. She looked back towards the other men, out of all of them only one was wearing his head gear. It was nice to see they were human, not some sort of nightmarish creatures. On the other hand, however, the thought that these monsters were humans, was downright terrifying.

She was jostled from her thoughts as Cato balled his hand in her hair and pulled her up. Her hands quickly went around his wrist, attempting to lighten his grip as she struggled against him, raising a chuckle out of the other men except Silas, who looked thoroughly unamused. Cato pushed her down to the sandy earth and she landed with a thud. The air was knocked out of her and she took a moment to catch her breath. Cato stepped down beside her, his boots made a soft thump against the ground. 

“We caught up with the rest of the group while you were asleep,” suddenly something tight was latched around her throat and she pulled one hand up to attempt to pull it off. Cato snatched her wrist and roughly pulled it away, “Ah ah ah. I wouldn’t tug on that if I were you. It might go off.” Ladybird looked up at him in confusion and he knelled next to her, a sick look plastered to his face. He took her face in his hands. They felt grimy, she attempted to pull away, but the hand tightened causing her to cease her efforts of pulling away, “Listen good. If you try to run from me, your head comes clean off. This will see to it,” He tugged at the collar around her neck, “Understand?” She simply nodded and he pushed her head away from him roughly. 

She looked up and saw several more caravans, loaded with crimson clothed people and those she grew to know. Young boys and women. They were eerily quiet, the only thing that could be heard was chatter from the men who surrounded them. “Put her back in my cart, Silias. I’m going to talk to Remus. I'll be back very shortly.” Cato looked back down at the red-haired woman on the ground before walking back off towards the other carts and caravans. 

She heard Silias land beside her. He was much heavier footed than Cato was, “Can you stand on your own or do I have to stand you up myself, girl.” Ladybird shook her head and stood up slowly, wiping the sand from her knees and torso as she did, “I’m capable of standing on my own, thank you.” Silas snorted in response. His hands wrapped around her waist roughly and she pushed back against the sudden touch. He disregarded her squirming and lifted her back onto the back of the caravan before returning to his comfortable leaning position at the back end of the wooden cart. 

“Cato’s taken a liking to you,” Silias suddenly said, breaking the silence that fell between them. Ladybird’s soft grey eyes flickered to his darker ones, “Lucky you.” He said curtly, sarcastically even.  
“What is that supposed to mean?” She leaned towards him slightly. 

“You’ll see.”

She frowned at his short response, leaned back, and turned to look out into the crowd of faces before them. What would these people need with all these bodies? She questioned if they had fallen into the hands of raiders, but they seemed too organized. 

Silias leaned back against the cart and crossed his arms as Cato approached them once again. Cato pulled Ladybird next to him, a hand ran up her thigh. A shiver ran through her and she clasped her on his and moved it away from her. Cato furrowed his brows before raising his hand and striking her across her face. She let out a sharp gasp as he hit her. Her hand quickly raised to her face and she curled away from him. He leaned in closely to her, seemingly hissing in her ear, “Don't embarrass me like that, you ungrateful bitch.” He straightened himself up and turned to walk away.

“Silas we’re starting back on the road later this afternoon. Keep an eye on my little dove for me."

Silias watched the younger woman, who continued to hold her stinging face.

"Yes, sir."


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops my executive dysfunctional ass was like "Wow we got so much time to work on another chapter, lets sleep instead."  
> These next couple weeks I'll be going to a con and finishing up costumes and such so I was like....maybe lets finish this now.

“Impudent whore.”

Cato towered over her. He always did. He constantly had to have some power over her, always had to be taller, bigger. Typically, it didn’t scare her. It was simply the display of his ridiculous male bravado. Every man in this camp had the same chip on their shoulder. Today, however, it was far more menacing. A young girl squirmed in Ladybird’s arms; she was no older than two. She had thick, black hair, beautiful dark brown eyes, they looked just like her fathers.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I know that wretch isn’t mine.” His arm shot out and caught the toddler by the shoulder, jerking the baby away from Ladybird, who scrambled to keep the crying girl by her chest.

“Cato, please!” Ladybird cried out, reaching outwards as the stepped away with the girl in hand. 

“Shut your dammed mouth.”

She felt hands crawl up her body, she looked down to see shadows pulling her back, wrapping around her neck, waist, arms, and legs. Panic rose through her as Cato’s figured blurred, all she could hear was her baby whaling in the far distance. 

Where was he? He promised he would be there to protect them? 

He promised.

She jolted up from the bed in cold sweat. Her messy hair clung to her face and neck and she gathered it up and pulled it back. She pulled the sheets back up to cover her bare chest and shifting from the bed sheets next to her brought her fully into reality. A man laid next to her; his arms were outstretched as he looked up at her. He sat up a bit, propping his head onto his arm.

“Everything alright, doll?” he purred.

She watched him, unamused with his pet name. He wasn’t terribly unattractive, at least. His eyes were a bright green, his hair was a mousy brown. He had the typical “rugged wasteland” look to him. Stubble, scars and all.

“peachy fucking keen.” Even her customers weren’t spared her sour attitude. A lot of them seemed to either totally disregard it or enjoy it.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he sat up fully and stretched his arms over his head, “I should be heading out soon. I’m sure the other members of my party are wondering where I am.” 

He still reeked of alcohol. She shook her head slightly, as if she was attempting to clear the smell from her nostrils.

“What is it you said you did again?” She turned towards him. One thing that had never changed from her younger years was her interest in other people’s lives. She always tried to listen to what their tells of adventure. A small fragment of her imagination always got the better of her. 

When she was younger, she dreamt of leaving her settlement, and got a sick twist of what she asked for. Even now, regardless of the past, she dreamt of getting the hell out of this shithole. 

“Caravan guard.” He stood, facing away from her as he shrugged on his shirt then his jeans.

“What company?” She knew the Crimson Caravan wasn’t terribly far, she assumed it was them.

“Happy Trails, smaller company.” He turned towards her as her as he slowly zipped his pants up, picking his leather armor up and strapping himself into it.

“I’ve heard of them before I think,” She trailed off as he finished dressing himself, “Well…if you’re ever back in this dump come find me.” She winked at him, it was rather unbecoming of her.

“…I don’t know if the whole soft, flirty thing is your style.”

“Never been good at it. More of a stay mean, keep em’ keen kinda gal.” She replied as she stood on her side of the bed with a smirk, pulling her pants on first.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He rubbed his hand on his chin and a small smirk played on his own lips. He continued as watched her dress his eyes trailing down her body, “Well… I guess I’m off then, huh.” He sheepishly ran a leather clad hand through his tousled hair.

“Yep.”

He awkwardly opened the creaky door and slipped outside before turning back to her, “Oh... hey. I never caught your name.”

“Ladybird.” She responded to him as she slipped her faded green shirt back over her head, “And yours?”

“Just call me Eddy.”

She nodded towards him as he continued to stand in her rotten door frame. She didn’t recall him being this terribly awkward last night, then again, several shots of whisky will do that to a man. Four shots in and she was sober, and he was already slurring lewd compliments in her ear at the bar. She had never met a man who was more of a lightweight. She had always known caravan guards to be drunks, but she guessed he was new to that kind of life. 

“See you around, Eddy.” 

With that he slipped fully through the doorway, softly closing the door behind him. The quiet of the room was deafening. She grabbed the pouch of caps and slipped back out of the room.

She slipped out of the building and back into the hotel hallway. Most people would be a tad embarrassed to leave alone the morning after arriving to a hotel with a man, but she was rather used to it by now. This place was way classier than many of the places her customers rented for the night, the guy must have some kind a money. She usually stuck to the slummy buildings of Freeside but last night she wanted a decent drink. She slipped her hand into her pocket.

She slinked into the elevator and stretched her hands above her head. She was going to head home and take a long nap, much to Vex’s dismay, she was sure. She pressed the button for the lobby and sighed as the elevator stopped a few floors down. She glanced towards the man in the brown suit who slipped in as the doors opened. She said nothing to him and kept facing forward. 

He went to press the “lobby” button and paused, as it was already pressed.

“Ah. We’re going to the same floor I see.”

His voice made a sour look cross Ladybird’s face. His voice was soft, but it felt slimy and insincere. He sounded like the human embodiment of a snake, and he sounded eerily familiar.

“Yeah.”

That was all she could muster up in a response to him as he glanced down at her. She looked up at him and froze. Inculta. 

Those frumentarii bastards were probably swarming the place, like the radroaches they are.

She kept as much of a poker face as she could and slowly broke eye contact to watch the wall, but her mind was screaming for her to stop at the next floor. That would look rather strange. She had never interacted with this man, merely passed by him or saw him from afar. She could feel her heart thumping against her chest and the silence of the elevator unnerved her more and more at they waited. She pulled her green jacket closer to her body. Surely, he wouldn’t recognize her. Unless Cato had…

The ‘Ping’ of the elevator stopping at the lobby floor shook her out of her thoughts and he stepped out of the doors. He turned and held the door of the elevator for her, as if the doors would shut her in or some shit if he didn’t hold them back. She quickly stepped out and held her head down. She didn’t want him to get another glance. She quickly made her way through a small crowd of people. He was great at being fake. The faux gentlemanly façade did not fool her one bit. She knew what blood stained his hands. A memory of his sick smile as he crucified so many innocent people crossed her mind. She didn’t look back. She didn’t say thank you. Her mind was racing questions. She felt nauseous. Did he remember her? Does Cato know where she is? No. She had to think rationally. 

There could be more of them. 

She glanced around at all the faces that passed her in the lobby, trying to bring up context for each and every face. She looked back towards where she had left the man and sighed. She couldn’t see him anywhere. She must have lost him in the crowd. The air felt thick, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. 

She needed out of this damned city.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus this is short as hell but I've been having a hella writers block unfortunately. At least were closer to Ladybird meeting Joshua....well.......the legate Joshua, anyway. Anywhoooo sorry this is so short my brain is like....off.

It was quiet in the camp, save for a few men barking orders in the distance. The midday sun was excruciatingly hot as it blared down on the weathered red tent she resided in. She stared up at the ceiling of the tent with tired eyes, laying across a palette of furs that cloaked the sandy, Arizona ground. She wasn’t allowed outside of the tent, Cato’s orders. He claimed it was to keep her safe from the wondering eyes of the troops, but she was convinced it was far more dangerous in the tent with him. She thought of it as a lion’s den and she was a lamb waiting for slaughter. She rubbed her thumb across a cut that stung on her bottom lip. She had sustained it in the first couple days of being in the camp. Cato has come back incredibly agitated at the end of the night, and his fist met her face. ‘It could have been worse,’ was all Silas could say, handing her a cold wet rag to press against her lip after Cato had left.

Silas was different than the other men, she had noted. When she first met him, she was sure he would be similar in personality to Cato, seeing that they were constantly together. He seemed like he couldn’t stand Cato, but obeyed orders given from the top down anyway. He always was there to clean up after Cato’s fits of rage.

Perhaps under different circumstances they would be acquaintances, Ladybird would think. As quickly as that thought came into her mind, she waved it off. She was sure that he would eventually show his true colors, as decent of a man he seemed to be.

The tent flap moved open, and Ladybird shifted to her stomach, looking up at a young woman. This was the first time in two weeks she had seen another person besides Silas and Cato. She has mousey brown hair and was rather fawny. She had deep brown eyes and tanned skin, Ladybird thought she was rather beautiful. 

“Sorry to bother you….” The woman airy voice broke the silence between them. 

“It’s alright…” Ladybird opened her mouth to speak again but didn’t seem able to.

A larger figure appeared behind her, holding the tent flap open as the woman walked in. She couldn’t have been older than thirty. Ladybirds eyes flickered to the being who towered over her, the sun blocked the face with shadow before he stepped inside as well, letting the flap close. It was only Silas. The woman kneeled by Ladybird and pulled a back from her shoulder, “Cato wanted me to do a physical on you. He wants to be sure you’re healthy.” Ladybird’s eyes flickered between the doe like woman to Silas who sat down in the corner, an apathetic facial expression crossed his face as it always did. He sat away from them, minding his own business.

“What is the point in that?” Ladybird looked back to the woman; her face cocked in a quizzical way.

She brown haired woman frowned at her naivety. Leaning in close to the red-haired girl as if to speak to her quietly.

“Cato is being considered for a promotion.” Silas’ gruff voice cut the woman off before she could say anything, obviously caught off guard as he spoke. 

“And?” Ladybird sat up straight before crossing her arms.

The brown-haired woman’s eyes widened as she heard Ladybird talk back to Silas so openly.

“There’s talk of him becoming a centurion, if he impresses the higher ranks enough.”

“So what?” 

The brown-haired whispered whispered in Ladybird’s ear quickly, “You shouldn’t talk to them like that.”

Ladybird waved her off, making eye contact with Silas.

“Which means he’s going to want sons.” Silas turned towards them, his head resting against his hand.

Ladybird locked eyes with Silas. She could feel her heart start to beat heavy against her chest. 

“So?” She said, her voice taking a sharp edge to it.

“So, a healthy woman means more of a chance of pregnancy and more pregnancies means more of a chance for sons.” Silas’ eyes narrowed as Ladybirds eyes widened.  
She broke eye contact with him briefly and a silence fell between all of them. Anxiety gnawed at her. She could feel a pit open in the depths of her stomach. Her heart felt heavy.

Silas looked back down at his hands, pulling a knife from a strap near his boot. Twirling it in his hands as he spoke again to break the silence.

“It could be worse.”

“How?” Ladybird responded, a forced and pitiful tone plagued her voice.

“You could be dealing with someone else,”

She turned her head to the other woman who could do nothing but look towards the ground nervously.

Silas abruptly stood up sheathing the blade he was toying with back into its strap. 

“Look. Save yourself from future problems and just give him what he wants.” Silas continued.

“Is that what you do? You just give him what he wants?”, She retorted.

He furrowed his eyebrows at the ginger and let out a frustrated sigh before motioning to the brown-haired woman, who quickly followed after him.

He turned towards Ladybird and spoke lowly, “You’ll be grateful for the things I do when I’m the only thing standing between him and you.”

He gave her a sideways glance before completely exiting the tent.

He left Ladybird standing in the middle of the tent with questions running through her head.

 

Why her? Why was he so adamant in helping?


	7. Notice

HEY I promise I'm not dead nor is this fanfic I just started a new semester at college and im mcsuffering. I've been working on chapter 7 for a couple months now and I haven't felt satisfied with it, so I keep editing it...and accidentally not saving it, then loosing it all.

Sorry for the delay I'm just um lazy

Anywhoosies feel free to follow my tumblr and leave suggestions for the story or talk to me or whatever.

theirlittlewhispers.tumblr.com!


	8. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whew boy. It's been a while. I broke my phone and so I have literally nothing to do but school work sooo I guess it was about time I updated this? This chapter isn't my favorite but I decided to finish it up best as I could and post it to get rid of it finally lmao.

That short encounter with Vulpes had left her a mess.

He hadn’t said very much to her, but just staring him in the face again after all of these years was enough to make her sick.

She hadn’t left her room in weeks. 

Wouldn’t answer the door.

She was waiting for Vex to eventually find her way here and beat down the door; she lit another cigarette and shakily put it between her lips before staring out the window. The same trashed out streets she had grown accustomed to greeted her.

Paranoia had nearly eaten her up inside. 

She was sure the withdrawals from the drugs her body had become used to didn’t help a bit. She was too damn nervous to make her way outside to buy more. There could be more of them besides Inculta.  
She took a drag before putting it out on her arm. Several other fresh burn marks littered the appendage and per usual, the sting didn’t even make her flinch. She sat down back on the bed and let out a loud sigh, running her hands through her hair anxiously. 

The blankets enveloped her as she plopped down on her back, watching the old ceiling as if it would give her any kind of advice, any comfort. For a short second she thought about being honest with Vex. Telling her all about her past and giving Vex some sort of understanding of how she wound up this way. She could never bring herself to do it.

Not only was is none of anyone’s damn business, but it made her feel weak. It didn’t particularly fancy Ladybird to wind Vex up in her mess. Vex could give less of a shit about the NCR, The Brotherhood, The Legion or any of those assholes looking for power, control, and to push their own personal morals on everyone else. As far is Vex was concerned, the wasteland was a wasteland and there was no way anyone could tame it, so Ladybird couldn’t quite muster up the ability to tell her that she should be afraid about these people, and this impending war.

Ladybird constantly listened to the news.

She listened about some dumbass courier who got a bullet busted through their head. Big deal.

She listened about powder gangers busting out of some NCR prison. As long as they didn’t fuck with her, she could care less.

But she mainly listened about the war. The building tension between the NCR and the Legion.

Ladybird had told herself that she was a new person, she had distanced herself from them, but seeing that bastard Inculta made it all come back. She felt like a teenager again. Hiding away as the troops passed the tent. Reluctant to deal with any of them except Cato, and Silas of course.

Cato was dead. She knew that much already, but Ladybird always grew nervous that one day, someone would recognize her, or Cato would somehow find a way to her doorstep to torment her even in death.  
She frowned, unhappy with these memories that she had promised herself she had swept away many years ago.

She remembered her children and became even more upset. Her two sons were most likely dead, or training to eventually be slavers and rapists like the rest of them, and their father. She hoped for the latter, in all honesty. Knowing that her own blood would be out doing sick shit like that made her stomach churn. They would have been ten? And thirteen? She had lost count.

Her daughter, on the other hand.

She had no earthly clue how she was. She would have been seven. She had never missed her so terribly before. 

But she wasn’t an idiot. 

She knew she wasn’t cut out for motherhood. 

She knew they would have both died out in the wastes if she had brought the young girl with her to search out a more suitable place to stay, not that New Vegas was where Ladybird had originally had in mind. 

Ladybird knew that parting ways would be for the best. Her daughter could have a chance at a real life though she could still remember the heart wrenching sound of her four-year-old calling after her, sobbing as she left her on a stranger’s doorstep. She couldn’t bring herself to ask for help from them. She didn’t deserve being saved. She felt so foreign in her own skin. Her daughter deserved to grow up with a halfway decent childhood and she wouldn’t be able to provide that for her, she kept telling herself.

The New Canaanites were good, godly people. She knew that from her youth. The stories the missionaries would preach still echoed in her head. She knew that they would take good care of her. They had always been so kind to Ladybird when she was younger, and she had been so tired from the trip and…

Ladybird sat up in her bed and rubbed her hands, shaking herself free from memories. She had been unknowingly clenching her fists so tightly the knuckles were white.  
She blankly stared forward. 

The eerie silence of the room consumed her thoughts until, something in her snapped.

She slipped off her bed and onto the floor, grasping for something under the bed. She pushed aside empty pill bottles and old syringes she still hadn’t picked up and pulled a small box from under the bed.

A handgun. 

It wasn’t much, she had got it from a slimy caravan driver on her way to New Canaan. He had a smile like a Nightstalker and smelt like cigarettes and cheap booze. They didn’t have anything like that in the legion camps. It made her nose itch.

The man had come across an exhausted Ladybird and an even more exhausted toddler.

He asked if they had needed help, and jumped from the wagon, stalking up to them as they rested under a shrub to try and get out of the heat.

She didn’t trust him, but she had run out of options.

Ladybird agreed and he helped her and the girl up into the caravan.

“Of course, I don’t help no one for free.”

Ladybird had stared forward into the sandy horizon with furrowed eyebrows as his calloused hand slid between her thighs.

She loaded it; a familiar click met her.

She needed to get out of this city.

Maybe one day, when this all blew over, she would return.

There was very little for her to loose.


End file.
